Conrad rips Issa investigation

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) lashed out at Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) after the Republican congressman pushed the powerful Democratic senator to divulge details about low-interest loans he received from Countrywide Financial.

In letters provided to POLITICO, Conrad has accused Issa of attempting to impugn his name in a GOP inquiry into the Countrywide mortgage scandal. Conrad said that the Senate Ethics Committee is the “appropriate forum to resolve this matter,” not Issa’s Republican staff on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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“It is unfortunate that you chose to damage my good name in your report without giving me the opportunity to provide my side of the story,” Conrad said in the sharply worded Aug. 3 letter. “But that damage has been done. I now have the opportunity to present my case before the Senate Ethics Committee, a fundamental right you denied me.”

“Shame on you for abusing your power,” Conrad said.

In response, Frederick Hill, communications director for the GOP staff on the committee, said: “Sen. Conrad’s whining doesn’t change the seriousness of the situation or the need for a full investigation of the Countrywide VIP program.”

Hill said the scope of the investigation goes “far beyond” the jurisdiction of the Senate Ethics Committee and is looking at Countrywide’s conduct in its program.

The testy back-and-forth was spurred by separate Aug. 3 letters that Issa sent to Conrad and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) about the low-interest mortgages they received from a VIP program, called Friends of Angelo, that was intended to give the best rates to the powerful and well-connected. Dodd and Conrad have strongly denied any wrongdoing, and even some ethics law experts have questioned whether a member of the House should be conducting an inquiry that touches two sitting senators.

Issa said his Republican staff is investigating the program to see whether or not it served its alleged purpose to influence peddle. And Issa insisted that Dodd and Conrad are not the targets of his investigation, but he was focusing on “those who offered” the low-interest rates.

Issa urged both Dodd and Conrad to give their sides of the story following comments the two senators made in a July 30 POLITICO article questioning the congressman’s handiwork.

In the article, Conrad said he found it “very odd to be investigated and never given a chance to give my side of the story.” Dodd said the timing of the inquiry was “too coincidental” since he is preparing for a tough reelection next year.

In his letter to Conrad, Issa said he appreciated “your willingness to share your knowledge of Countrywide’s VIP program with the Committee. A discussion about your experience with Countrywide’s VIP loan unit will provide valuable insight about the function, scope and success of the program in question.”